Town Square

What happened to the "Guy on the bike"?

Original post made
by ptownright, Downtown,
on Apr 19, 2010

Growing up in Pleasanton, it was hard not to notice our own icon, the "Guy on the bike". This guy, was out daily riding his bike (shirtless) around town. I have not see him in years and was actually wondering if he was OK. Anyone actually know him?

Posted by resident
a resident of Country Fair
on Apr 20, 2010 at 7:01 am

I saw him about a week ago walking into a store. I joked with my daughter in the car "that's Mr. No Clothes...remember him!?" As a child, she would see him riding through town on his bike without much on and we termed him "Mr. No Clothes." Nice to see he's doing fine and was actually clothed and looking healthy.

Posted by Ribit
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Apr 20, 2010 at 10:30 am

He used to ride around with a lot less on than shirtless. The only thing he had on was his shorts. Wasn't my favorite thing to see him treck through the grocery store with no shoes, no pants and no shirt.

Posted by Hybrid Owner
a resident of Valley Trails
on Apr 20, 2010 at 2:41 pm

Ive also wondered what happened to the 'flute man' as we used to call him. he would ride his bike around town playing a little flute, his clothes and hats were various colors of very sparkly/shiny fabrics and he had streamers on the handles of his bike. Remember him?

I remember the shirtless/shoeless bike rider too. I grew up here and he was always a fixture around town. I was just thinking about him the other day...PW, please do an article on him. I'd love to hear his story.

I ditto the comments about this being a timely forum comment as I was just thinking about the bike man too. I've only been in the area for about 12 years but frequently saw him through the years. Glad to hear he is well and that so many people feel the same away about the missing icon. P.S. Nice to finally see a pleasant forum conversation :)

Same guy! I used to see him all of the time, every day I drove to or from work.

Read that thread and you will see someone raises the question of Rose, Pleasanton's bag lady. Remember her? Of course you don't, because she went missing quite some time ago. Her most recent hang out was the bus stop on Valley near the 7-Eleven. Before that, she was out-of-sight apparently living indoors. Earlier, I remember her as a fixture in front of the old Safeway where Walgreens is now (that was a long time ago!). She sat there talking to herself. One day as I walked by she was swearing a storm like a drunken sailor shouting out something about the FBI!

The PW wrote up something about Rose, but I can't find it in their archives.

Posted by Passing on happiness
a resident of Birdland
on Apr 20, 2010 at 11:44 pm

My husband and I are native in P-town and are now raising our young family here too (home). We often talk about Rose sitting at the bus stop and in front of the original footprint of Safeway. Of course we always stray to the conversation of the "shirtless bike guy", then onto "Alpha Beta" where Gene's is now and when Rite Aide really was "Thrifty". There was a farm with lambs behind my childhood friends home between birdland and 7-11. The public library was located where gingerbread is now. To think our parents moved here over 40 years ago simply because they couldn't afford anywhere else is mind boggling!! It's great nostalgia, and makes us happy to be home. Sometimes we wish it was as simple as it used to be, but progression is a great thing.

Posted by ShirtlessShoeless
a resident of Danbury Park
on Apr 20, 2010 at 11:53 pm

OK, he's an Icon ... what else can anyone say. An overweight, overly tan guy wearing nothing but short shorts! He may have had a skin condition that required only minimal clothing, especially in hot weather. I would rather have been looking at a normal weight, overly tan girl riding a bicycle, wearing nothing but short shorts (and so would you, David Walden ... don't deny it!). Out!!

Posted by Mary
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Apr 21, 2010 at 12:35 am

Our neighborhood referred to him as Nature Man. The original man was older and I'm not sure if he is still around. A younger version of Nature Man has been out and about for the past 5 years. He lives a few blocks away and follows the same MO.

Has anyone else noticed that there have been TWO of these fellows?
(I even wondered if the younger one was a son.)

What ever happened to Rosie, the homeless woman? She was also an icon? There were many rumors about her when I was a kid that she had a very wealthy son and she just preferred to live on the streets. Looking back now, maybe that was just a story parents would tell children.

Posted by Patricia
a resident of another community
on Apr 21, 2010 at 8:31 am

I moved from P-Town over 20 years ago but this too put a smile on my face as I remember seeing him every (sunny) day riding his bike with no shirt and no shoes. This is what makes Pleasanton special...so special I'm coming up for a visit this week to see the kids/grandkids.

Posted by Peter Milliken
a resident of Valley Trails
on Apr 21, 2010 at 9:56 am

We moved from Pleasanton last year (after living there for 37 years and raising three wonderful boys) and talk about the shirtless guy on a bike, the colorful guy with tinsel flowing off his head and playing the flute (steering with no hands as he played), and the old lady on Valley. Those are fond memories and are what makes Pleasanton a wonderful place to live. Thanks to the Pleasanton Weekly for posting all the comments. Even though we no longer live in Pleasanton we enjoy reading about you.

Posted by THE GUY ON THE BIKE
a resident of Birdland
on Apr 21, 2010 at 11:01 am

IT ALL STARTED IN THE 70s. I THINK HE HAD A HEART ATTACK. FOR THOSE OF US WHO WERE HERE 40 YEARS AGO IN BIRDLAND, THATS WHERE IT ALL STARTED. HIS ORIGINAL BIKE REPLACED, NO SHOES, NO SHIRT, NO HAIR, KACKY TYPE SHORTS AND MORE IDENTIFING DETAILS, EYE GLASSES AND A WEDDING RING. HE RODE IN ALL KINDS OF WEATHER SUN, RAIN, AND YES EVEN SNOW (a foot of snow on the ground in birdland. for two days) HE HAS BEEN RIDING SCINCE TOWN ONLY CONSISTED DOWN TOWN, VAL VISTA, BIRDLAND, DEL PRADO, VALLEY TRAILS, MISSION PARK, VINTAGE HILLS. THATS IT. NOW IM SURE HES COVERING MUCH MORE DEVELOPED ROADS. USED TO RIDE PAST MY HOUSE IN BIRDLAND IN THE 70s.I WAS 7 YEARS OLD NOW 43. WATCHED HIS FEET OVER THE YEARS GET MORE AND MORE TRASHED. NOTICED WHEN HE UPGRADED HIS BIKE FROM HIS ORIG. PROBABLY REPLACED IT A TIME OR TWO MORE. THE ORIG. IF STILL AROUND SHOULD GO IN THE MUSEUM (ON MAIN) WITH HIS PICTURE (SHIRTLESS AND SHOELESS OF COURSE) USE TO CALL HIM THE GUY ON THE BIKE AND SOMETIMES AS A KID, A FEW OF US FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD (BIRDLAND) WOULD RIDE WITH HIM FOR A FEW BLOCKS. IM SURE HE REMEMBERS, WE WOULD CATCH UP WITH HIM AROUND GREENWOOD AND RAVEN ROADS. HE WOULD IGNORE US AND PEDAL ON HIS WAY. BET HE NEVER THOUGH THAT WE WERE STARTING A TREND OF SUPPORT FOR THE GUY ON THE BIKE. WAS ALOT SAFER FOR ALL US BACK THEN BEFORE ALL THE IMPATIENT TRANSPLANTS.

Posted by Livermore resident
a resident of Livermore
on Apr 21, 2010 at 1:27 pm

Sounds like the residents of Pleasanton have a much nicer man on a bike than Livermore has. We have a man that rides around town on a three wheeled bike, pauses to talk to anyone who will listen and he always turns the conversation around to his toilet. It's pretty creepy. He has lived here for years and my kids always refer to him as the "toilet man on the bike". He is pretty harmless we have learned and is very lonely but I don't think he is homeless or anything, just might need some medicine or something. We see him all over town.

Rosemary did have a son that lived in Pleasanton. They could not keep her in any home, she preferred to be outside. When they put her in the home in Oakland she left! I wonder how many recipes she copied over the years at the library. She would spend hours and hours writing down recipes from magazines. When she didn't smell to bad the police would let her sleep in the lobby.
She had income, she got her check at the post office. She refused all help by her family.
She did pass away a few years ago. She might have been a little 'touched in the head' but she was harmless.

Posted by frank
a resident of Pleasanton Heights
on Apr 21, 2010 at 8:23 pm

I am sorry to hear of Rosie's passing, but am not surprised because she was getting up in years. It seems amusing that Pleasanton had it's own bag lady back before it became so upscale with its new downtown and its many McMansion developments. I can't help but wonder if today she sat out on Valley near Santa Rita every day with her bags might not this PW Town Square blog get postings complaining how her presence was ruining housing values in the city......

I have lived in Pleasanton almost 50 years and remember clearly the "big" snow we had around 1977. We were allowed out of our classrooms at Amador to play in the approx. 2-3 inches of snow. Just enough for an awesome snowball fight! Have pictures of it. Only lasted a short time. When was the foot of snow that lasted two days?? I too loved watching the Naked Bike Guy.

yes the man on the bike. I believe he was a scientist or research for the LAB and Lived in Birdland. He did start riding because of health issues. He was a very nice man and very smart. I hope he is still with us. I still look for him.

Posted by Tweetheart22
a resident of Birdland
on Apr 22, 2010 at 9:18 am

I loved seeing the "guy on the bike"! I also grew up in the Birdland area and we would see him riding around our neighborhood all the time. I have too thought about him often. I agree that Pleasanton weekly should do a story on him. It would be fun also to see him in the parade for the beginning of Alameda County fair!

yes the man on the bike. I believe he was a scientist or research for the LAB and Lived in Birdland. He did start riding because of health issues. He was a very nice man and very smart. I hope he is still with us. I still look for him.

Posted by Peter Milliken
a resident of Valley Trails
on Apr 22, 2010 at 1:00 pm

On 8-25,2000 the Pleasanton Weekly ran a feature on the "Best Local Character" with a full page picture of him riding his bicycle. In the article they listed what we the residents refered to him as; "bicycle man,shorts-only bicycle man, turtle guy in blue shorts with no shirt, gentleman riding bike without shoes or shirt and possibly Patrick". "You may have even called him the naked bike-riding man", although no one could document that, and it was rated as a rumor. It was written that residents of Pleasanton "doubt that "Pleasanton could ever really call itself Pleasanton without his presence" and I agree. People like him and the others mentioned are what makes Pleasanton an interesting, exciting, and wonderful place to live.

Posted by Steve Rosefield
a resident of Pleasanton Valley
on Apr 22, 2010 at 1:48 pm

As there seems to be a lot of people that remember him fondly from his bicycle escapades, and as no one else has stepped in to do so, I will file an updated report to my posting of last year.

Pat and his wife Sue are my next door neighbors. To my knowledge they are in reasonably good health and appear to be enjoying their retirement immensely. I know they have taken several interesting trips in the last few years and appear to be aging gracefully. Pat stopped riding quite a few years ago. Though we have never spoken about it directly, my sense is that he misses riding tremendously. My wife and I both race for local amateur cycling teams and are consistently out training on the local roads. On numerous occasions I have seen Pat watch us return home from our adventures from his porch or front window. During those moments I like to imagine that Pat is fondly remembering the freedom and unencumbered joy that the simple act of riding a bicycle can bring. And I know that he appreciates being fondly remembered for his role in our community of characters. I will tell him that you send your regards and wish him well.

Posted by Resident
a resident of Lydiksen Elementary School
on Apr 22, 2010 at 4:24 pm

Yes, I remember them both! Sorry to hear about Rose passing away. We looked into finding help for her but found out she refused all help from her family. D

oes anyone remember a scruffy homeless guy we referred to as "canyon man" back in the 1990's? He would walk up and down Dublin Canyon Road between Rowell Ranch and Canyon Meadows Condos in all kinds of weather with a dirty blanket wrapped around him. I assumed he lived somewhere in the hills. I have not seen him in 10 years, but my commute no longer takes me that way.

Posted by Swami
a resident of Pleasanton Valley
on Apr 22, 2010 at 9:57 pm

Not here long enough to share those memories, but great to hear the stories. Am intrigued by this teenager (?) riding a bike backward around the Pleasanton Valley neighbourhood, last saw him a few weeks ago at the corner of Black and Greenwood. He does quite a competent job of it, but wish he would have front/back lights installed and on when it is dark.

Posted by member
a resident of Mission Park
on Apr 23, 2010 at 5:11 pm

I also remember all these old time icons around Pleasanton and Livermore. "The Guy On The Bike", Rosie, and the three wheel bike rider in Livermore. I grew up in Livermore, and was stopped more times than I would have liked to talk to him. Can't remember his name at the moment, but he had, or has, a twin brother that used to also ride a three wheeler with him. Haven't seen him in quite a while though. They lived somewhere off Wall St. or that area. They were always friedly to everyone, just like to talk. Nice to hear he's still around. Glad to hear the Pleasanton "Guy on the bike" is still around and well.

In all seriousness, I would like to see a statue erected in his honor (by way of private funds) and placed somewhere downtown. I think it would draw a ton of smiles and be quite popular with our residents. A statue as whimsical and quirky as this would be a welcomed addition to the already growing list of impressive art presently on display downtown.

What do you guys think?

Let's honor one of our own and immortalize this fella's unique individuality that always illicited a smile and a chuckle in everyone who encountered him.

Posted by Yes, but..
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Dec 31, 2011 at 12:23 am

In answer to "So funny" : this is Pleasanton, not Santa Cruz or Southern CA, so forgive us if we seem so provincial in wanting to acknowledge and celebrate a local person who catches our attention by being a bit unique in *this* setting.

I've lived in Santa Cruz, Laguna Beach, San Clemente and spent a considerable amount of time surfing my way around the South Pacific...I KNOW all about beach living. Having said that, Pleasanton is the furthest thing from beach living which makes this fella all the more interesting. Simply put, the fella stood out in Pleasanton and made people smile.

Back in the fall of '95 when I was a senior at AVHS, I was told that someone asked him if he would ride his bike in our homecoming parade and lead the two or three floats that we had made around the racetrack. Unfortunately he declined. I always though that would have been great though.